Alive
by Tamahashi
Summary: A dramatic novelization of the ending of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis).


Alive

By Alex Hinders

Sonic's mind was spinning as rapidly as his legs and his eyes were nearly blinded by the intensity of the red light he was running through. The images in his mind of how events came to this point were jumbled and chaotic and Sonic found it hard to concentrate on just how the inferno had even come to be. Running, no longer consciously aware of where he was running but certain he was running towards an exit hatch, he began to piece together the images. Distantly, he could see himself hanging on to a rocket as it sped farther and farther away from every place he could name, there was a quick glimpse of a grey metallic version of himself, and then, he could see the doctor. Guarding the main power reactor with a monstrous robot suit, Sonic had so suddenly found himself engaged in the battle of his lifetime. And, then...

The battle was a blur. It had felt almost as if it had lasted hours but Sonic knew that his perception of time was warped and that it had probably only taken a matter of minutes. Although the memories of the fight itself had been lost to the blue hedgehog he could remember that in the end a surprise blow he landed sent the robot suit flying into the power reactor. As the giant collided with the space ship's heart there had been an explosion filled with the incredible energy of seven chaos emeralds. It was as if the gods themselves had gone to war and the terrifying assaults were beginning to rain down on the earth and all it's mortals below. That's when the inferno had started, when all Sonic could know was fire and heat and the color red.

Then he was running. Snaking through the hallways only seconds ahead of the expanding shockwave, feeling the very tips of his quills begin to singe, he could only hear his heart beating. In a little secluded part of his brain he recognized the fact that there must be a horrible retching sound but the simple sounds of his heart and his feat clanking against metal seemed to drown it all out. The flames began to touch the edges of Sonic's very back and it was at that point that he had to channel every ounce of his energy into pure speed, and it was at that point that his very mind shut down. 

He was running. Not thinking, not feeling, not even in control of the very muscles that gave his legs the mobility he needed. He was just running.

After a time, his mind snapped back into a state of full alert and Sonic found himself flying through a small hatch, and seconds later, he found himself falling. Quickly, he spun around to gaze at the madness he had just escaped and saw the Death Egg exploding and like a bird touched by sleep, beginning to lazily spiral towards the Earth. Although Sonic gained a small sense of satisfaction from the destruction of the perverse air ship he could feel no real sense of pride over the victory. He turned back around and let his eyes fill with the blue of the planet. He must not have left the atmosphere of Earth for as he fell and as he screamed he could feel air rushing into his lungs, pushing it's way in, and massing in a great crowd. His thoughts began to blur as he became light headed.

Then, the almost space like scene turned to clouds as he continued his plummet and Sonic realized that he was going to die. This was really it. He had won the war he had spent so much of his life fighting and now moments before the ultimate victory could fill his soul, it would all be taken away. Despite this, Sonic realized that he could not muster up any sense of anger or despair against this injustice. He was going to die, and in the throes of death, he really felt no inclination to feel anything at all.

He thought briefly of Tails, the one he had considered his little brother for almost a year now. It was too bad that their friendship would be cut short, he mused, for he would have liked to watch the small fox as he grew older and distantly, he wished his friend the best of luck.

His mind briefly flashed towards the ultimate fate of the doctor that had caused this all. Despite everything the doctor had ever done, he could not bring himself to wish death upon the small egg of a man and that if death did have to claim the man, that it would come quickly and would not leave moments like this. How could anybody wish anybody to suffer moments like this on others?

Finally, feeling once again encroached into his heart and he felt certain tenderness as he realized that he had never been alive. From the very early days when he was but a small orphan he had spent the majority of his days fighting against the doctor and sabotaging his plans and destroying his bases. Perhaps, in a few scattered instances, he had been alive-but those were but moments, and not times of living. It was too bad, he decided. He had always hoped that someday, all of this would end, and he'd be able to live and to experience love and to find hobbies and to be able to go out to work and come back to a simple home and find comfort in his bed. It almost seemed unfair-that he would not be allowed to ever live-but again, he could not summon the fire of anger. Although he would not have a chance to live, he would make certain that everybody on that small planet would be able to have that sacred gift and that nobody would ever have to be alive without living, ever again.

With that, a slow smile began to envelop across his face, and he closed his eyes, and he left what would come to whatever would be.


End file.
